Willow Ridge Stand Alone

For @Adeltra @Elle and/or @Romanov

Enoki and Nicolo were fortunate to have been able to have a liter during the spring. He thanked the Gods daily that they had granted his family the gifts that were Romanov and Adeltra. If they weren’t fortunate enough, Elle had come along, not long after the birth of his own. Enoki, being the kind soul that she is, accepted the poor child and the dark Archer would have been a fool if he disagreed with her decision. The charcoal man would not make the same mistake with his foster daughter as he had with Sven when the pack had all but been ordered to shame him. The new alpha of Willow Ridge did everything in his power to make Elle feel included in everything that he did while at the same time not putting too much attention on her. It would not do for him to only neglect his son and daughter. He was finally finishing up a round of border before looping back into the territory for the day. The man was hoping to catch up with his children throughout the day. Thus far, he had not had any luck in running into any of them. Ever since they had left the birthing den they had been increasingly hard to find. Nicolo knew he had to put trust in his offspring and hoped that they would not be getting into any trouble.

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Rain was not enough to keep Adeltra Archer from exploring even nook and cranny of their territory. She was conscious of her boundaries, of course, but the girl had already adopted a tendency to push them as far as they could go. She had yet to go past the borders, worried of making mother and father angry, but she’d gone to toe to toe with them at every opportunity she could do. Even with the periods of rain that came the girl was content to wriggle in puddles and make the most of her time. This day she’d been out and about, sniffing and digging wherever she pleased when she’d come across the scent of her father. She wasn’t much skilled in the art of tracking, being as young as she was, but she could differentiate the scents and identify most everyone in the pack. She’d seen some of the others hunt and track some little animals and the idea came to her head that she might try to do the same with her father. So, she’d followed him around for a little bit. When he’d turn around she’d scurry behind a tree or jump underneath a bush in an attempt to not be discovered.

When he finally stopped Adeltra narrowed her puppy blue eyes in concentration, dipping to the ground in a crouch and wriggling her butt in the air. Then, with a loud yip, she burst forward and ran to her father. Tackling his feet she nipped at him with playful growls, skittering back with her tongue lolling happily out of her mouth. “Got you!” she said.

Shallow water has trapped several fish in a small pond. Hunt Opportunity

There was a curiosity that tugged at the youthful Archer – he was in awe of those around him, and while he did not grasp scenarios that unfolded before him quite yet in terms of the intricate relationships that Willow Ridge held, he could feel a budding pride within his very youthful chest that it was his parents who roamed their lands held so highly. Ravenna, too, had struck him as intriguing, and it was within these very thoughts that Romanov’s sponge-like brain began to take an interest in what his family would be – but the desire to know their history and more of them was not something he could fully comprehend just yet.

What Romanov did understand was that he enjoyed the company of those he loved – and so it was so surprise that when he sought out Adeltra, who as a bonus had found their father. His mother and Elle were somewhere – he would have been content with any of them. Yet when his bright eyes fell upon his sister and father, the boy elicited his own yip, announcing his presence as he toddled toward them, still holding his puppyish gait, despite trying to imitate his own Archer grace. Adeltra yelled out, and he tried to side up beside her, his own muzzle gaping to grab on an ear and tug.

It's Only Dark.

As he moved deeper into the Ridge, he almost gave up hope for finding his children. Then, scuffling behind him made the man still, ears flicking back and pale yellow eyes narrowing. Nicolo inhaled deeply, his daughter’s scent infiltrating his senses. A small smile flicked on his lips. He would allow for the girl to have her fun. More movement and then a collision caused bubbling laughter to spill from the dark man’s lips, his pale orbs softening as he turned to gaze upon Adeltra. "Indeed, you did!" His daughter would not be the only one that would come out to greet him. His son was quick to announce his presence, though it would have easily been noticeable by the standard clumsiness of a pup. When Romanov engaged his energy in pursuing his sister, yellow orbs searched back into the expanse of the willows, expecting to see Elle follow after his son. The girl was not to be found though and the Archer contented himself to spend time with the children that were present. Redirecting his gaze towards Adeltra and Romanov, a playful bark escaped his own lips, glee gleaming brilliantly in his eyes as he leaned down onto his front paws.

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“Indeed you did,” her father exclaimed and the chocolate furred girl’s chest puffed out in pride. She’d managed to sneak up on Nicolo, or so she thought. Her young mind didn’t comprehend that he’d already known of her presence for some time, but the lack of knowledge only boosted her self-esteem. Suddenly, there was another presence next to her. Teeth met with her ear and gave a tug and she yipped, rearing up and spinning with gaping jaws and flailing paws. The assailant proved to be her littermate, a bright grin crossing onto her lips.

Adeltra loved playtime, especially if it was wrestling with her brother or sister. She batted at Romanov’s face, high-pitched barks escaping her vocal jaws. The movement of her father caught her attention and she turned, her tail wagging harder. She turned to look at Romanov, a mischievous look on her face. “Get! she cried, then turned and ran at the larger wolf once again in an attempt to tackle his snout.

Aha! He had managed to snag his sister's ear. Yet the Archer boy's success didn't last long. His sister put up a fight against his grip on her ear. He was met with her paws battering against his face. It was enough to send him stumbling back onto his rump with a wide-eyed look. Roman shook his head softly before scrunching his face up in a pure look of puppy disappointment.

Of course, the bad feelings were forgotten as his dark sister declared an attack on their father. The Archer gave a large grin to her mischevious look before he was back up on all fours. He toddled as fast as he could towards the bowed position of Nicolo. A lopsided grin drew across his face with ease. If his sister was going for his snout than Roman would take the side! He would do his best to aim for his father's lowered left shoulder. His only goal was to tackle him and perhaps if he was very lucky, he could make his father tumble. With the persistent help of his sister obviously.

A loud and a rather unimpressive yip left his boyish form for he lacked the proper skill to make a war cry. For now, that was.

It's Only Dark.

He enjoyed nothing more than watching his children be happy. Pale yellow eyes danced with delight for Adeltra and Romanov as they wrestled with one another. If they got too rough with one another, Nicolo would intervene but he felt as if playtime was important for his children and wanted them to grow strong and learn from it. It did not take long for their attention to turn to him though and a sly grin grew on the father’s features. The siblings were teaming up on him, which was something that he was glad that they we relearning together at such an early age. His daughter was quick to attack him, her small body weighing down on his snout. He allowed it, though his eyes were actively seeking out the form of his son. A frown formed on the father’s face when the form of his mischievous boy did not come into view. And not even a moment later, did something akin to a war cry sound beside him. With Adeltra on his muzzle, he did not want to swing to his side, in fear of knocking her over a bit too hard. Instead, when Roman knocked into him, he let out a small oomph and fell over to his side.

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